Red Ear Sliders; overwintering
1/5/15
Hi there,
<Hiya - Darrel here>
I have two red eared sliders that I got as babies 8 years ago.
They lived in an inside aquarium up until last year as they got too big.
They now live outside on my balcony in a prefab pond. I have a filter,
basking area and a heater. I live in Southern California where it's
generally warm.
<Yes. Generally they don't need a heater at all.>
However, we've had some really cold nights and I'm frightened that the
turtles are suffering...daytime highs are mid sixties. Nighttime lows
are low forties/high thirties. I know sliders are supposed to hibernate
at temps below 50, but I'm afraid it's not cold enough....or that
it's cold enough at night, but not during the day. I've heard that this
"middle ground" can be very stressful for the turtles.
<That is right, it can be>
Should I bring the turtles in for the season?
<You certainly can.>
Perhaps just in at night?
<Some people do that as well>
I would appreciate any guidance you can give me. I've spent hours
reading about hibernation, but haven't found any real information on
what to do in this "middle-ish" climate.
<OK - here's the deal. It depends on your pond. The deeper the pond the
more heat it will retain during the night, especially if you have a
heater. My adult Sliders, also here in Southern California, live all
year long in an un-heated outdoor pond that is two and a half feet deep.
During the month or so that it gets chilly here, they tend to settle to
the bottom when there's no sunshine to soak up and they get along just
fine.>
<Other people take their sliders in for the winter by placing them in a
closed cardboard box in a corner in the garage.>
<In your case, if the water is heated to at least 60 degrees during the
day, all I'd add is a 125 watt heat lamp over the basking area. If they
are otherwise healthy they'll be fine. I wouldn't feed them again until
it warms up … but they act so needy and beg so well that I'll even break
that rule once in a while myself>
Thank you so much for your help.
Elizabeth
Re: Red Ear Sliders 1/5/15
Thank you SO much for getting back to me! This is just the info I
needed!!! I appreciate your help! Happy New Year!! :-)

Red eared sliders in the garage over winter 9/1/12
Thank you in advance for your time. Long story short, I inherited
4 baby Red eared sliders. I put them in one of my old 20 gal tanks and
put it in my garage. They have been doing great. Next summer, I hope to
be able to put them in my 2000 gal Koi pond. However, this winter is the
problem. I already have two saltwater aquariums, 70gal and 180 gal. My
wife said hell will freeze over before another tank is set up in the
house. I live in southern Indiana. Even though last year was pretty
mild, it can get quite cold. My plan is to either keep them in the 20
gal or purchase a larger stock tub and keep them in my garage this
winter. The garage is insulated but not heated. I've already have UVB
bulbs and heat lamps. I can also add some heaters to the water to keep
it warm. Will this work? Even if I heat the water, the air will
obviously not be as warm as it should be, especially at night when the
heat light goes off or when I open the door to get the cars out. Or, am
I thinking completely wrong here and shouldn't provide heat and let them
hibernate? Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Brian
<Hello Brian. You are quite right not to let them hibernate. Red-Ear
Sliders do not hibernate, and in fact getting any kind of reptile to
hibernate is very difficult to do properly and needs careful
understanding of the balance of size and weight (the Jackson Ratio) for
that species before they go to sleep. Red-Ear Sliders have only moderate
tolerance for cold, and winters in their natural habitat, the southern
United States, tend to be mild and any really cold periods are brief. So
while they do become inactive when it's cold, they don't need to do so
for very long, and physiologically can't tolerate extended periods of
inactivity brought on by a long, cold winter. Even here in England where
they have become established, they only live in relatively warm
microclimates, primarily cities, and when it does get really cold these
populations die back considerably -- only to be topped up again when
unthinking pet-owners dump unwanted specimens back in the city ponds!
Anyway, basic care for this species is summarised at the link below, and
particularly for overwintering, the system used can be very basic.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/RESCareBarton.htm
So long as you have a heating lamp (which works through infrared) the
air temperature in the garage won't matter overmuch, but if you can
stick an aquarium heater protected with a heater guard in the water,
that could be used to make sure the water doesn't get too cold (turn the
heater down to its lowest setting). Insulating the aquarium or tub would
be useful too.
Cheers, Neale.>

Shelving a Turtle or two?
9/1/10
Darrel, if you guys weren't experts in this stuff, I would think
you are off your rocker!
<Never assume - I may an expert AND a nut!!>
Packing up turtles in a box and putting them on a shelf as if you were
storing a fake Christmas tree? I certainly would have NEVER thought of
that! If it isn't considered inhumane to do such with these little
guys, then that's what I will do with them.
<Inhumane would be to let them freeze. Nature freezes them all the
time in the Northeast .. and what many people fail to realize is that
not all do survive it.>
I just didn't want to get attached to them in any way and then find
out that I am going to have to find new homes for them.
<You should be fine>
As for the fear factor, they are currently sticking their heads up out
of the water when I approach them, then scurry back to the bottom of
the pond, then sticking their heads out - it is actually rather comical
to watch them doing this. I placed a couple of pond plants in there to
help them hide a little better but am following your advice and not
attempting to feed them
anything for at least another week. It was a waste to put food in there
as they weren't even looking at it, much less thinking about eating
it.
<Exactly>
Sorry for all the endless emails, I really do appreciate the time you
have spent answering my questions and I think I have at least a grasp
now on how to deal with them. Really, your answers really helped to
ease my anxiety about everything that is going on with them.
<No problem, Ben. I get paid per word. Per word per word>
Ben B

Re: Shelving a turtle or two,
hibernation 12/24/10
Hello again:
<Hiya - Darrel here>
I know this topic was discussed several months ago, but I am now
finding myself with a question about "shelved turtles". The
temps went down quite a lot last month, so I put them in the cardboard
box with the padding as you said to do. But now, the temps are in the
high 60's or low 70's high with lows in the high 40's to
low 50's. Is this "cold" enough to continue keeping them
in storage? Should I bring them out and then put them back in if it
starts getting cold again?
<No. The problem is, with these temperature changes, they might not
ever reach a stage of brumination (sort of like true hibernation except
they're still awake). Cycles of warm (bit not warm enough) and cool
(but not cold enough) keep them from reaching this state and it's
very hard on them.>
<My advice is to leave them in the box until youre sure that Spring
is here to stay>

Hibernation for aquatic turtles
12/15/08 Good morning Neale, ...I have 2 babies aquatic
turtles (yellow belly and northern red belly) in a 10 gallon tank. 2
inches each of them in size....Suddenly one (the Yellowbelly) of them
decrease his activity, remain in a corner of the aquarium and
principally stop of eating. I'm very carefully with all conditions
of the environment and the turtle looks good at his external
characteristics.....is possible that he is trying to hibernate?....What
is the best to I can do it? Thanks in advance Victor <Hello Victor.
Generally aquatic turtles won't/can't hibernate in captivity.
It is possible to "force" them to do so safely by controlling
temperature carefully, but otherwise it is simply much safer and much
better to leave them pottering about their tank as normal. Day length
may regulate activity levels, and decreasing temperature (if your tank
is unheated) certainly will. But otherwise just leave them doing their
usual thing, cutting back food if they aren't feeding much. It
won't do your turtle any harm at all not hibernating, and indeed
the risks caused by improper hibernation are much more serious.
However, because your tank is small -- much smaller than I'd
consider safe for even a single turtle, let alone two -- I'd be
very cautious about water quality. Also check the diet is correct (lots
of greens!) and that their is UV-B light for basking. When turtles, and
reptiles generally, don't get the right food and the essential
UV-B, they slowly become less active and healthier, eventually getting
sick. If your turtle is seemingly lethargic, and temperature is
appropriately warm, I'd double check your turtles is healthy.
Cheers, Neale.>

Frozen painted turtle 11/29/08
Hi. <Hiya Deb - Darrel here this morning> We recently found a
painted turtle (4 inch diameter) frozen in the ice of our pond. We
chipped out a section of ice with the turtle and brought it inside to
thaw. Incredibly, the turtle does appear to be alive but still in
hibernation. <Yes, he was hibernating to the point of stasis. The
Emydid turtles, for the most part, do quite well in frozen creeks and
ponds by shutting down to an almost imperceptible metabolism until the
thaw comes. On the other hand, this is never something we intentionally
do to our pets because not all do survive. In your case, I would have
suggested to leave him alone and let nature take it's course, but I
understand the desire to "jump in" (pun intended) and try to
help. Now that he's out, we'll press onward> We aren't
sure what is best for his survival now ... keep him indoors and let him
come out of hibernation or place him in a shallow goldfish pond that
hasn't frozen over yet. The daytime temps are still in the mid
30's with overnight lows dropping to high 20's. What is his
best chance of survival? <Deb, at this point, I'd like you to
bring him indoors, place him in a cardboard box or some other suitable
container with high sides and then place him in the coolest part of
your house. Not a porch or area exposed to the outside temps in the
20's, but not next to the heater either. I'd like him to
experience temps in the 40's, 50's & 60's for a few
days, if possible and then up to the comfortable indoors temps of your
house. In other words, we want to warm him up FAIRLY quickly, but not
so fast as to shock his system. If he warms up gradually over a few
days or a week, you'll see occasional signs of activity (mostly
looking around probably the way WE do when we first wake up in the
morning) and then small movements until he has shaken the hibernation
off and then begins to walk around. Wait a week after he's fully
active to place him in a shallow bowl of room-temperature water to soak
and hydrate for a few minutes, and then another week before offering
him some Repto-Min sticks or Koi pellets (same thing only less
expensive) in the water.> <At that point, might as well give him
a name and create a more {semi}Permanent winter home for him and either
keep him there as a pet, or plan to release him to the pond when the
nighttime temp is consistently above 60 and the daytime has consistent
sunlight and at least 75 degree days.> Thanks you, Deb <Yer
welcome, Deb!>

Putting my turtles to hibernation
11/19/07 Hi <Hiya! Darrel here> I have a Three Toed Box
Turtle (about 6 or 7 inches long) that I have had for 6 or 7 months. I
keep him in a large outdoor 5x8 cage built out of cinder blocks 2 high
and lined with bricks sunk in the ground inside to keep him from
digging out. There is a small shallow pond in it and I also have a
chain link cover over the top. Our dirt is mostly clay so I mixed up a
patch of it with lots of sand for him to dig in but he never digs.
<Box turtles seldom dig actual holes. They're more likely to
just find a natural depression at the base of some plant and hunker
down for the evening or the season that way.> It is starting to get
colder so I figure he should go into hibernation soon. The thing is he
doesn't dig so I don't know if he will just go sit somewhere
and hibernate. That would be bad for him right? <"Bad" is
a relative term, Amanda. Winter causes their systems to shut down to a
minimum for the season, but you have to remember that in nature, not
all of our animal friends survive each winter. When possible or
practical, I arrange for my animals to be spared the entire process>
I also considered putting a box stuffed with hay for him to dig into in
his cage so he wouldn't have to go underground. <Two course of
action here. You could find a bigger box of cardboard or wood, put some
straw or hay in the bottom and bring him inside, maybe to your room,
and spare him the whole hibernation process. Two, you could get a
smaller box, fill it with straw as you suggest and place him in a safe
place on your porch or in your garage and let him shut down for the
season. You don't say where you live, so I'm not sure just how
cold or dangerous your winters are. More on this in a moment> Should
I stop feeding him yet so his food won't rot in his stomach? <As
fall approaches their appetites should start to shrink and yes, you
should slowly reduce their feedings, both in amount and frequency> I
also have a Map Turtle (about 4 or 5 inches long) I keep in an outdoor
aquarium. Last year I just put him in a smaller container and put him
in our glassed in porch (its unheated) and he hibernated on the bottom
of the tank. Is this an okay way for him to hibernate this year? <A
lot of the same advice applies, Amanda. For my inside animals and
individual specimens, I bring them inside the house or porch and add a
little heat and avoid hibernation, but for my outdoor ponds I have no
choice but to let nature take it's course. The worry is that the
pond is deep enough and the body of water large enough to maintain some
temperature balance (cold or hot) and here's the reason: Most of
our reptile and fish friends from temperate climates can hibernate over
winter without problem, but what I call "almost winter" can
be lethal to them. "Almost Winter" is where it is clearly
winter and their metabolisms shut down according to plan, but it's
not cold ENOUGH to shut down all the way .... or it has too many warm
periods where they reheat and become semi-active only to be hit by
another cold snap .. these transitions can be lethal to them.>
<Here's an example: Yes, you could put your Map turtle in a
large enough tank and allow him to over-winter, or you could keep the
water warm to around 65-70 and a basking area warm to 88-90 and avoid
winter altogether. BUT .... if you were to let the water become 50 or
55 and still have the basking area active, his only choices would be
TOO HOT (for winter) and TOO COLD (for summer). Personally, I'd
rather see the Map Turtle in a tank on top of the dresser in your room
all year 'round than outside.> I would appreciate any reply to
this. Thanks. -Amanda <You're welcome & best of luck to
you!>

Re: Putting my turtles to
hibernation 11/24/07 Thanks for all of the tips but I have a
few questions about what you said. I live in Southern Louisiana and the
weather has been going under 35 for a few days and back up to 85 for
awhile from what you told me this is dangerous for them. <Well, see
.. this is where more information is better. Southern Louisiana
doesn't really have "winter" in the conventional sense.
Your turtles won't really "hibernate" in the traditional
sense but rather slow way, way down to a state we call
"torpid".> Should I just take them in the garage where the
change is less severe until the weather levels out? <In the climate
you have as I now understand it, they'll both be fine outside
during the winter PROVIDED that (A) - They are healthy, active and
properly fed until this winter started, (B) - you stop feeding them
until the weather warms permanently and (C) - the winter is more or
less "normal" and starts warming again in late March or
April> I would bring them both inside for the winter (the Map Turtle
all the time) but my parents have a no pets in the house policy. <I
have two sons. Reptiles and fish are welcome in my house ... it's a
no KIDS inside policy I'd like to have!> How big would a box for
the box turtle have to be for him to live comfortably if I were to take
him inside? <For "over wintering" not very big at all.
Twice his length would be fine, but in Southern Louisiana I
wouldn't worry about it.> I don't have a basking lamp for my
map turtle but I have his tank where the sun hits it in the morning and
afternoon sort of a natural lamp does he need a real lamp? <Make
sure the sun isn't filtered through the glass. Standard aquarium
glass and even window glass filter out a great deal of the healthy UV
waves and can over heat them as well. If you do that, you should be
fine. Make sure that all animals that get direct sunlight can also get
OUT of that sunlight when they choose.> Thanks again for a reply.
Amanda

Turtle
Surviving In the Outdoor Koi Pond 10/5/06 My wife found
a tiny baby turtle in our yard in the spring, we named him Sal Manilla.
We constructed an enclosure in the shallow end of our koi pond, about
12" wide by 24" long, and about 8" deep. He's been
there all summer, and grown to around 2 inches in size on a diet of
turtle pellets, koi pellets, blood worms and brine shrimp. We had
considered bringing him indoors for the winter, but now are wondering
if it might be better for him if we released him into the pond. The
pond is about 3 feet deep, 3000 gallons, and our koi survive the winter
well there. Our concerns are due to cold winter (we can easily expect
long stretches where it will remain below freezing, and occasional
overnight temps as low as 0 degrees F), his young age, and in some
small part, also concerned he might burrow into the gravel bottom and
tear the lining of the pond. Option 2 is a 5 gal aquarium. Do you think
our turtle Sal has a decent chance of surviving the winter outdoors in
Rhode Island? After all, he was born wild... You opinion would be
greatly appreciated. Dave < I would keep him indoors. The natural
pond is made of a soil/clay bottom. If the water gets too cold then he
could bury deeper in the mud and increase the insulation. Gravel is too
porous and allows the cold water all the way through to the bottom
liner an offers no insulation.-Chuck>

Hibernating Turtles 8/12/06 Hello. I have
2 red eared sliders and I have them outside in a pond. They have
plenty of basking space and shady places. I have been keeping them in
the pond for a few summers now and have been bringing them inside
during the winter. I was wondering if it is possible to keep
them outside during the winter and if so do I need mud in
the bottom or what should I do. Thank you <Hibernating
turtles can be somewhat challenging. First your turtles must be in good
health. Sick turtles do not usually survive a season of hibernation.
Secondly, is make sure they are well fed. They must have enough fat
reserves to last them through the winter. Do not feed them in the late
fall when things have already cooled off. The food will rot in their
gut and cause problems. Depending on where you live the pond needs to
be fairly deep so that it doesn't freeze solid. In the south a
couple of feet may be fine. Deeper the farther north you go. They need
mud to bury themselves and to help insolate them. This year many
turtles came out of hibernation early because of an unusually warm
winter and early spring. Sudden cold fronts caught them already out and
many turtles got sick with respiratory
infections.-Chuck>

Red Eared Sliders Changing With The
Seasons 12/13/05 Should I adjust the basking and UV lamps for
my sliders with the changing light conditions as the seasons change
outside? I keep my 3 RES's in a large indoor pond that
is heated all year round. Should I keep it spring and summer
all year (maybe 12-14 hours of light), or should I shorten their days
to reflect the fact it's winter coming on? Again, the
air and water temp will remain the same all
year. Thanks! LARRY in Los Angeles < As long
as the water temperatures don't change then I would not change the
lighting. If you were trying to breed them then I might try a different
diurnal period along with a cooling period. Then in the spring I might
try to increase the water temp and the lighting to simulate
spring.-Chuck>

Winter and Red Eared Slider I really need to know if I can
leave my red eared sliders out side in the winter or not. I have a
little pond outside that they can live in. I have a heater for the pond
so it won't freeze. I keep gold fish in it and
they stay alive. I have it all fenced in so they can't
get hurt by any animals. They also have land to go onto so they can be
on land if they need to. please help <It really depends
on where you live. If it gets cold enough they should bury
themselves at the bottom of your pond and go into
hibernation. I personally would move them inside, I have
never hibernated a turtle or tortoise and if I were going to try it I
would like to be in control of the conditions. Check out the
links below to help with your decision. Best Regards, Gage
http://www.anapsid.org/hibernation.htmlhttp://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Refrigerator.htm >

Turtle Hibernation Regarding hibernation, we live in the
Houston, TX area, where the temperature rarely drops in the 20's.
the kiddie pool is only 9 inches high, so am I right in saying its not
suitable for hibernation of my turtle? my family does not plan on
bringing inside for the winter, so can I just hibernate it in a 14 inch
high bucket that we have that's wide enough for her to fit in with
an inch or so at least the whole way around extra? after all, she
doesn't need any room for movement, just a deep hibernating spot,
right? I just want to know if the bucket is deep enough for her to
hibernate safely at 14 inches or if its too shallow. thank you <I
have no experience hibernating turtles, I do not know if the
bucket technique is a good idea, sounds like it will be hard to
regulate the temperature. There is a good article at the
link below on hibernating turtles in the refrigerator. I
would get a good book that thoroughly covers hibernation before trying
it. Best Regards, Gage. http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Refrigerator.htm >